Winter sports such as skiing, snowboarding, and sleighing involve sliding over a surface of ice. Sliding occurs when a thin film of water forms in the interface between the object and ice which lubricates the interface. In winter sports where speed is important, lowering the friction between the sports equipment and the surface of the ice is highly desirable.
In addition to reducing friction for winter sport equipment, prevention of ice formation may be useful for preventing ice formation on other surfaces, such as, for example, airplanes and road signs.
However, virtually all surfaces exhibit significant molecular level roughness. The rough molecular surfaces allow ice to adhere mechanically, even to highly non-wetting surfaces. The collision of a supercooled water droplet with a surface may involve enough energy to overcome most unfavorable Gibbs free energy changes of wetting and therefore cause ice formation on the surface. There is a need in the art for a material that prevents water from freezing at its surface.